Consumers urged to get up to speed with financial reforms taking effect on July 1

Consumers are being urged to get up to speed with changes to the financial advice they receive, particularly for superannuation, ahead of new laws beginning on July 1.

From Monday, sweeping changes come into effect relating to the commissions financial planners can charge customers.

The Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation was passed by Federal Parliament just over a year ago, and the reforms came out of the Ripoll Inquiry into Financial Products and Services in Australia.

That inquiry examined the collapse of Storm Financial.

The FOFA reforms introduce a new duty for financial planners and advisers which make their responsibility to put their customers' interests first.

Mark Rantall, the chief of the Financial Planners Association, says the laws are good for consumers.

"When a consumer goes to see a financial planner, that financial planner will be charging them a fee for [a] service for any investment advice they provide, rather than a commission," he said.

"They have a legislative requirement to act in the best interests of their client and they are required to provide the client with an annual fee disclosure statement outlining the fees charged and the services provided and used.

"These requirements have been requirements of professional members of the Financial Planners Association for some time."

David Whitely from the Industry Super network says the payment of sales commissions from superannuation and other products to financial planners has been a contentious issue for more than a decade.

"What's happened in the last few years is that firstly, with the number of financial planner scandals, and secondly with the growth in importance of superannuation, people are becoming increasingly aware that sales commissions were not only creating a situation where people were not necessarily being recommended the best super funds for them, but secondly that the commissions were reducing people's retirement savings," he said.

"Given the compulsory nature of super and its importance to people's dignity in their retirement, I think a general mood amongst regulators and amongst the community at large evolved such that change was required."

Mr Whitely says it is important that consumers get up to speed with their super and whether they could still be paying commission for their fund despite the new laws coming into effect.

"The most important part is the fact that these changes are what's called prospective from the 1st of July onwards, so many people, literally millions of people will be paying commissions and will continue to be paying commissions in July and August and onwards unless they do something about it," he said.

"Our advice to people would be to get on the telephone.

"If they're with an industry super fund you don't need to worry because you're not paying sales commissions.

"But if they're a member of a retail fund typically owned by the major banks, get on the phone to that retail fund, find out what commissions you're paying, find out what value you're getting from that and make a judgment on whether you're going to continue to pay sales commissions."

Superannuation changes also coming into effect

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) is urging people to get up to speed with a raft of changes to superannuation that also begin on Monday.

ASFA says they include the increase in the Superannuation Guarantee, changes to super for older workers and the launch of MySuper.

ASFA chief Pauline Vamos says it is not surprising there may be some confusion in the community.

She is urging employees to get more information from their workplaces on what the changes will mean for their superannuation.

"The way they impact on you will be different depending on your individual circumstances, which is why we have released this quick reference guide for consumers to help them navigate the new changes," Ms Vamos said.

"If you are still unsure, speak to your employer or contact your superannuation fund who will be able to explain in detail how the changes impact you."

Ms Vamos says the start of the new financial year is also a good time for people to start thinking about the lifestyle they want in retirement.

"Even just putting away a few dollars a week more can make a big difference to your superannuation balance once you reach retirement," she said.

"If you can afford to put away a few extra dollars per week, talk to your employer about how to make this happen.

"For example, if you are under 60 and earning under $300,000, you can contribute up to $25,000 per year into your super taxed at the concessional rate of 15 per cent."